Goalie Corey Crawford to start against Nashville Predators

Corey Crawford will start his second consecutive game in goal for the Blackhawks Wednesday against the Nashville Predators at the United Center.

Crawford made 32 saves and overcame an early two-goal hole Monday against the Sabres in Buffalo for a 4-3 win. It was the Hawks' first victory of the season.

Consider it a case of coach Joel Quenneville playing the hot hand right now. Starter Marty Turco is still expected to play this weekend when the Hawks have back-to-back games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Sabres.

"I'm pretty happy about it," Crawford said after Wednesday's morning skate. "The more I play the better it is."

Quenneville said Turco, the Hawks' first choice to replace Antti Niemi, "is going to play a lot of hockey for us this year."

Turco said when he was signed he thought he was capable of playing between 55 and 65 games for the Hawks. He was somewhat surprised by not getting the start, but OK with it.

"There is an emphasis on winning here and it's still my most favorite thing about the Blackhawks," said Turco, who knew Tuesday that Crawford was starting. "We got a ton of games coming up. He played well. We won. That as far as I look at it."